Is Your Legacy Worth Remembering?

“I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.” 2 Pet. 1:15

In my previous eight posts I explored what it means to be people of faith “plugged in” to God’s divine power for life. We looked at all the supplements that Peter called us to ‘add’ to our faith that made us new creatures in Christ. These were not specific tasks we must perform to guarantee our faith—that guarantee has already been secured by God’s grace through faith. Instead these were daily exercises that strengthen and express the faith we were given. It’s about making what God did in us visible for the rest of the world to see.

We talk a lot at CGN about living and leaving a legacy of faith for the next generations. I’ve discovered over the years that some misconception exists about what that means. There is tendency to think of legacy in terms of how the next generations will think about us. But isn’t that missing the point of a faith legacy? Certainly, we all want to be thought well of, but that point of a legacy—that which we leave IN another.

Remember the Right Things

Peter provides a much more accurate context for understanding the kind of legacy we are to leave. Peter’s concern is not what they will remember about him, but what they will remember about Christ and the qualities of true faith lived out in a turbulent world. In other words, the goal of Peter’s legacy was to make sure that after his departure, those remaining would remember who they are and what a godly life really looks like.

It is admirable to want to live a life that our children and grandchildren will fondly remember as one they want to imitate, but if it does not help them remember who the One is whose life is being imitated, if they do not understand what Christ has done and that our lives are increasingly a grateful expression of His glory and grace, in the final analysis it will be a legacy that lacks any transformational power.

What will your children and grandchildren remember after you are gone? Will they remember what a godly life really looks like and want to imitate that life? Will they remember whose they are and that their identify is rooted in the knowledge that they bear the image of God, not in what the world thinks of them? As a grandparent, the most important legacy I can pass to them is my example for them to see what it means to follow Christ wholeheartedly in a world hostile to the truth.

On March 15, we will have a new resource called 7 Absolutes—an expanded print version of a blog series I did earlier. It is one tool that can help you effectively live and leave such a legacy by sharing essential truths that are hallmarks of a Christ follower, and set us apart from the rest of the world. It also includes some suggested questions you can use to help your grandchildren work through these essential truths.

As a regular reader of my Courageous Grandparenting blog, you can order your copy, or as many copies as you want beginning March 15th. If you order between March15 and March 31, you can get free shipping with the code SHIPFREE. Please note that we cannot take any orders until March 15, so watch for the Order Now announcement next week.

GRANDPAUSE

The most trivial and the most important, the most likely and the most unlikely circumstances are made to minister to the development of God’s purposes. –C. M. Mackintosh

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2 Comments

This is so powerful! It really challenges me to focus my life on Jesus.

I particularly loved your insight, “Peter’s concern is not what they will remember about him, but what they will remember about Christ and the qualities of true faith lived out in a turbulent world. In other words, the goal of Peter’s legacy was to make sure that after his departure, those remaining would remember who they are and what a godly life really looks like.”

It reminds me of something Pastor Philip De Courcy wrote, “Legacy involves (1) love for God and others; (2) example of godliness; (3) guidance through Scripture; (4) availability and presence; (5) consistency of character; and (6) yearning for heaven. Our children and family need to see that we are godly in behavior, biblical in thought, real, committed to them, and eternal in our perspective. Money alone is a poor legacy, the real legacy is the treasured memory of faith in God!” ([Link deleted]